


Personality Piece

by veggiesamosa



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M, restaurant and food blogger au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:33:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veggiesamosa/pseuds/veggiesamosa
Summary: Haknyeon wants help from the owner of his (allegedly) favourite restaurant for his next blog post. Sangyeon isn't so sure that he should.





	Personality Piece

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! it has been a while!!! i decided to go with something lighter than last time but i hope it is still alright!!!

Sangyeon wouldn't say that food is his passion or that he had always dreamed of running his own restaurant since he'd been a child but it is what he fell into. He just needed a change and honestly made a very misguided decision after watching too many feel-good movies and reaching the end of his patience for superiors snidely finding issue with every little thing. But he doesn't like bringing it up for no reason. That's the past.

When one of his regulars asks how he got into the business Sangyeon doesn't know quite how to answer the question.

Haknyeon is staring across the table at Sangyeon with determination on his face and a pen held poised above his notepad after requesting Sangyeon sit with him. Sangyeon had worried there was something wrong with Haknyeon's naengmyeon but instead the issue is with Haknyeon not knowing Sangyeon's life-story. It isn't the sort of thing that Sangyeon expects and even if Haknyeon has contributed a lot to the revenue of Sangyeon's business Sangyeon wouldn't say they're close enough for this sort of questioning.

"Why do you want to know?" He eventually asks.

"You know I run a food blog, right?" Haknyeon asks. Sangyeon does know because Haknyeon has asked him to read it several times. He even pestered Sangyeon into providing his email address so Haknyeon could add him to his mailing list for newsletters and extra blog content. So far Sangyeon has seen his own restaurant rank much higher than it probably deserved in many of Haknyeon's "Top 18 of 2018" ranking lists but he still hasn't scraped into the top five and he wonders whether the "Top 19 of 2019" lists at the end of this year will give him too much competition to hope for a rise. Sangngyeon has read enough posts to be more than casually acquainted with what Haknyeon does in his spare time.

"I have seen it a few times."

"You should really read it properly," Haknyeon says impudently.

"I will bear that in mind," Sangyeon laughs. Haknyeon isn't laughing on the other side of the table and that's a first. Haknyeon usually laughs at all the same things Sangyeon finds funny and he isn't quite sure how to navigate this weird weight.

"Your restaurant is my favourite place to eat," Haknyeon says, business-like as he jabs at his notebook with his pen. "I want to do a post about how you saved my life by opening this place."

"I saved your life?" Sangyeon asks. He can't help but smile, wondering where the irony is in the furrow of Haknyeon's brow.

"Yes, you saved my life. If you hadn't have become a restaurateur I would have starved to death because there wouldn't have been anywhere in walking distance of my flat that has food as delicious as yours."

Haknyeon sounds very serious as he speaks and Sangyeon hopes his feelings won't be too badly hurt by how much he is laughing.

"Please remember that I am subscribed to your blog."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Flower Snack has never even ranked in the top three of any of your end of year lists," Sangyeon points out. "Also you just now specified that my restaurant is within walking distance of your home so I am sure all the ones further away have much better food."

"So what?" Haknyeon asks, flushed and flustered as he swats away an imaginary fly. "I don't want people to think that I am biased."

"Why would anyone have that Idea?"

"I am always mentioning Flower Snack to people and telling my readers to come here."

This part actually rings true. Sangyeon has smiled to himself and even laughed and shown Jacob and Younghoon the excerpts where Haknyeon has highly recommended the restaurant. All the same, Sangyeon glances around at the mostly empty tables. Aside from Haknyeon the only other customers are a small cluster of girls who have been supplementing their instagram feeds in the half hour they've been seated in the corner. Younghoon looks bored as he sits at the back polishing the silverware for the second time today. It's certainly a quiet day.

"You're definitely helping my business."

"It's a weekday," Haknyeon protests. "It is always packed at lunchtime! And anyway I think if I do a personality piece people will be able to engage with Flower Snack more intimately. They'll really understand how much you love your business. If people get to know you better like this it will really enrich the journey of the food they're eating."

It is bordering on sycophantic and Sangyeon wonders why Haknyeon is going through all this trouble to convince him to be the subject of a blog post. It somehow feels not quite right so Sangyeon says, "I am sure there are far more interesting things that you could be writing about. There are definitely other things your readers will be interested in seeing."

Haknyeon deflates and puts his pen away. "Well I don't know what to write about then. I have written about so many of your dishes but I want to pace myself so that I still have something left to write about."

"There are other restaurants," Sangyeon says. It might not be the wisest to suggest his customers go elsewhere but he sees Haknyeon often enough that he almost feels like a friend. Sangyeon would want any of his friends to go to other restaurants if they had exhausted writing about Flower Snack. Though (perhaps not entirely from a business point of view) he hopes Haknyeon would find the time to return here regularly.

Haknyeon seems to consider Sangyeon's suggestion for a moment. "Of course there are other restaurants. Where do you recommend."

"Oh," Sangyeon says. "I don't really get the opportunity to eat out often. You're the food blogger so I would assume you already know all the best places to eat."

Haknyeon nods. "Alright. I'll choose. Will you come with me?"

"Why?"

"I don't think the food will taste as delicious without you there."

Sangyeon grins. This is cute. "I didn't think you'd be the type who can't eat without company."

Haknyeon huffs. "That's not it! I am trying to ask you specifically to come and eat a nice meal with me."

"Oh. When?"

Haknyeon looks like he is surprised at the question. He must not have expected Sangyeon to be interested in the offer. That isn't to say he is interested in the offer but he just wants to see where this is going and why Haknyeon is asking any of this in the first place.

"When? I don't know. When are you free?"

"Wednesday," Sangyeon hazards. Truthfully he isn't the person who draws up the rotas and despite being the owner he feels better about things with Jacob setting the hours for the staff. Sangyeon follows Jacob's judgement on when he's needed and comes in every weekend to keep things running smoothly. Unless Jacob happens to be ill on Wednesday that will be Sangyeon's next day off. Haknyeon looks surprised at such an answer.

"That's so soon," Haknyeon says quietly. He shakes his head. "Alright. Wednesday. I'll make a reservation. But you should give me your number so we can organise this better."

"You're here almost every day," Sangyeon says. "Is there a possibility that we somehow won't be able to meet properly on Wednesday?"

"I can only find you if I come here. I am not picking you up from your own restaurant for a date at another restaurant."

"Oh?" Sangyeon asks. He feels like his seat swung him high in the air and didn't give him a chance to catch up to the motion as he stayed still. But his chair hasn't moved and the light loss in his gut is more from how unexpected Haknyeon's phrasing is. "A date?"

"Yes?" Haknyeon sounds equally as uncertain. "It doesn't have to be anything like that really. It's just a figure of speech! Unless you do want it to be a proper date."

"Are you just asking me out so you don't have to pay for food here anymore?"

"No!" Haknyeon says loudly enough to startle Younghoon into tipping over the entire tray of cutlery. The girls nearby titter together, halfway between laughing and contemplating offering him some help. Sangyeon should be contemplating the same thing really but Haknyeon is already looking embarrassed enough that he might disappear if Sangyeon looks away from him for too long.

"No? So you don't even want my food for free?"

"Stop talking unless you're going to reject me. Or accept me." Haknyeon sags in his seat and pouts at the table. "This is so horrible no wonder Changmin told me this would be a bad idea."

Already Haknyeon looks put out by the whole situation. Sangyeon doesn't want to delay much more and have Haknyeon successfully talk himself out of this date before he even had enough time to consider accepting. He hadn't thought he'd ever be asked a question like this and he wonders whether he should be happy that someone is flattering him so much.

"It's not a bad idea," Sangyeon says quietly. He tries to look as happy as he feels but he isn't sure he gets there judging by the near-pained expression on Haknyeon's face. "I am just extremely surprised."

"If you're surprised I suppose that means you haven't thought of me like that. That's kind of embarrassing."

"You shouldn't be embarrassed," Sangyeon says. Haknyeon widens his eyes in disbelief but Sangyeon isn't saying something like this just to be funny. He means it. "I do like it when you're around. You're funny and of course you're cute and even if you're apparently biased I do like your blog. I simply didn't think you'd ever consider me in that way. I didn't let myself think anything of the sort. So you've made me incredibly happy by asking me out."

"But it's a no, right?"

"I didn't say that," Sangyeon says quietly. "You've got my hopes up now. I'm excited about Wednesday and I wish I could go somewhere with you sooner than that. How am I supposed to see you so often before our date and not wonder how much I could make you like me?"

Haknyeon covers his face and groans aloud. It isn't quite screaming in terror, and he hasn't run away, but it's not the most positive of responses.

"Don't say things like this. I already like you a lot and you're going to make me like you even more," Haknyeon grumbles.

"Isn't that the idea?"

Haknyeon only groans again, which could be an affirmation as easily as a denial. Either way, Sangyeon has more excuses to look forward to their date on Wednesday. Even the days before then look as though they could be exceedingly fun.


End file.
